Master of Machine
by lord admiral belisarius
Summary: Hidden in the Forest of Death, Naruto finds an abandoned underground facility. What he discovers inside will change the world of ninja forever. Crossover with Armored Core: Last Raven
1. Chapter 1

**Master of Machine**

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The admiral doesn't own Armored Core or Naruto, they are the property of From Software and Kishimoto respectively

Please read and review. The author commands

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Naruto was elated. He had finally gotten out of the forest of death and the sometimes deadly preliminaries. Now, he could just sit back and enjoy some ramen. Then it hit him, what was in that cave he saw when running back to fight that snake freak. For him, curiosity killed the cat, not the fox. He doubled back toward the forest in an orange blur. He went in and nodded to the jonin on duty, allowing himself to be inspected for genjutsu and a quick blood sample to determine identity. Several hours later, his identity was confirmed. Naruto gave the guards a friendly wave which was returned. Soon, he was on his way to the place where he felled the giant serpent. The trees flew by in a haze of green. He came to the battleground. The snake guts were still there and the place stunk to high heaven. He looked around and saw his footprints and followed them. He jogged across the forest floor. Then he saw it.

There was a huge cave hidden in the bowels of a tree. The roots shadowed the entrance looming over him. It made him feel so minuscule in comparison. It was breathtaking. Naruto took out a kunai and began to hack through the dense foliage surrounding the cave mouth. Roots and vines fell before the blade, but Naruto was sweating by the end. He was finally able to explore the thing. Naruto crept forward, ears listening for any threats. There was a metal door in front of him. Naruto shrugged and twisted the wheel like opening device. He was greeted by stale air and the smell of grease and... was that ozone. The bright eyed blonde was greeted by an interesting sight. There was a drab grey room. More of a cement and steel box, but that was beside the point. Naruto stepped through another hatch and saw that he was standing on an elevated balcony. He looked around and saw spartan metal malls and large halogen floodlights. All in all, it was built like a bunker. The lights were mostly off, but small red emergency light strips dotted the railing and wall. Naruto could barely see his hand in front of his face in the dim red light.

He began to walk along the path of the walkway. The he saw an open door and stepped into a room. The room was fairly drab, but it had a soft twin bed in one corner. Their was a nightstand with a faucet and a small desk in another corner. A sliding door revealed a small shower and another revealed a closet recessed into the wall. He then prodded around the apparently abandoned facility. This revealed a mess room, an office, and a record room; however, he wasn't even finished with the inspection. There was a small infirmary with a mechanical tower-like thing standing unobtrusively next to the bed.

Naruto then saw a lever lying outside the office and thought, "What the hell, I might as well do it." The boy then flipped the switch. With an audible pop, a series of lights turned on after years of inactivity. Dust incinerating from the heat left a cloying burnt smell in the place. He turned around and now understood what the facility was for. In the center of the lowered area was a huge manlike thing. It was no summon, that was certain. The thing was a seven meter tall humanoid. It had no recognizable origin nor had Naruto seen anything remotely resembling it in any records. It seemed somewhat blocky with an angular headpiece. The paint had flaked off, leaving a gunmetal grey exterior. The thing had all sorts of tubes connected to it from various towers. There was a tower positioned over the back of thing, this metal man.

Naruto whipped his head around and began to look around for he heard a hiss and a snap somewhere in the area. Suddenly, a cool feminine voice came over the speaker nearest to him. The voice said, "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I'll explain the rest of tommorow. We will have much to discuss." Naruto powered down the facility and left more confused and curious than when he first entered. He knew he would be back tommorow.

Naruto felt the air. Night had fallen, how had he been there. He checked out with the guards on shift and went to his apartment. Naruto halfheartedly made himself a cup of instant ramen and, after doing the usual routine of personal hygiene, went to bed. He couldn't sleep. Thoughts of the metal man plagued his mind. Eventually exhaustion set in and he fell into a dreamless slumber.

Naruto awoke and ran to the forest again. He wasn't too worried about breakfast because he had seen a bunch of MRE's in the mess. After getting through the checkpoint, he was off, sprinting into the bowels of the forest. The light dappled the floor in an interplay of light and shadow, but he wasn't paying attention to that. His only fixation was getting answers about that place. He came to the entrance and entered feeling proud of himself. Then he realized something, anyone could easily figure out that someone was here. Naruto thought, "I think I'll bring some netting with me to disguise the entrance next time, unless there is some in the facility." He shrugged and opened the hatch. He walked onto the walkway after opening the second hatch. He again pulled down the switch and lights illuminated the once dark complex. The voice came again, "Please refrain from turning off the facility. I'd prefer it if you put it on idle, the selection in the middle. Now that we're all here, lets go into the rec room." Naruto followed these instructions, but kept his eyes scanning the area while his hand slipped subconsciously near a kunai.

He entered the rec room and plopped down on a couch. Suddenly he heard a _pop-hiss_ from the cylindrical device and saw an image appear. This image was in the shape of a woman in a loose dress with short hair that seemed to be made of bluish light. Naruto jumped back and pulled out the kunai he had kept his hand near. The figure laughed and said, "Now, now, Lets put away the weapons. I would like to talk with you." At this, he hesitantly put the kunai in its holder and made a gesture for the figure to speak.

"I believe an introduction is now in order. My name is Hailey. I'm an AI. This stands for 'Artificial Intelligence.' This means I am a computer program that simulates the human brain through a series of numbers that form matrices that are able to expand upon themselves and adapt to new situations much like a person. It also means I have 'feelings.' I operate this facility-"

Naruto cut her off and deadpanned, "I'm not that stupid."

Hailey paused for a minute at his comment and continued with her speech. "-and take care of the AC inside. Before you ask, I'll explain this to you right now. Despite what you backwards people on this continent may think, an AC, the thing you saw outside, is not a monster or a metal man. An AC is a system of mechanical parts connected by a series of universal joints. These parts that compose the frame are heads, torsos known as cores, legs, and arms. Inside are several other important parts: generators which power the unit, radiators which keep it from overheating itself, boosters that allow the maneuverability which makes AC's so deadly, and various things that are dispensed from the core, collectively known as inside parts.

AC stands for Armored Core because the machines are used as weapons. Due to this role, there are several external hardpoints for weapons on the back, hands, and shoulders. Things attached to the shoulder points are called extensions and have their own separate list of parts. Arm and back units also have unique lists of parts for their points. Arm weapons are grasped in the hand and because of this have a great amount of flexibility in loadout choices. This facility is accommodations for an AC and its pilot, also known as a Raven.

My mission here is to find a suitable pilot for the AC and instruct them in its operation. After which, I am to be that person's operator. You, my young friend, are the lucky person who gets that chance."

Naruto, with his head filled with images of himself piloting a giant robot, yelled, "I'll do it, datteybayo!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The admiral does not own the works used in this story

Read and Review, the author demands

PM me for the design of Naruto's AC

Hailey happily replied, "Well, lets get you in the VR simpit. I'll give you step by step instructions on how to pilot the AC. Now...Wait, what's your name?"

Naruto gave the AI a slight glare before saying, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Just call me Naruto."

Hailey said cheerfully, "You need a callsign. Just in case you're wondering, that AC back there is called Toxicity."

Naruto thought, "I think I need something cool. Foxhound...Naw, boring. Orange Blitz...Sounds like a soda. Demon...I bet someone already uses it. Chem Dog... Perfect, fits the AC and is original." With his choice now made known, he declared, "My callsign will be Chem Dog!"

Hailey clapped, or as best a hologram could, and said, "Alrightee then, to the simpit, third room on the left," before popping out of existence as she turned off the projector. Naruto opened the door and went to the third room on the left. Inside was a rectangular object connected to a series of hydraulic pipes. A door slid out from the back of the box. Hailey's voice rang from the speakers.

"Naruto, climb in the simpit. The door is open." Naruto clambered in and flipped a switch marked "ON." The simpit came to life and dull lights bathed him and the interior a dull red. Hailey commanded him to put on the full face helmet. The helmet itself was spherical and had a shiny, black visor covering the wearer's eyes, and a small antenna rested upon the right side of the helmet. "This helmet shows you everything from the view of the camera located in the AC's head. It also tracks head movements, so wherever you look, the AC looks. Another function is to provide a Heads Up Display that overlays itself over the video feed. Please press the button labeled "Activate" on the panel.

He pressed the button and the control panel lit up. Hailey ordered, "Press the button on the side of the helmet."

Naruto did so and saw the image his eyes saw change from a red box to looking through the eyes of a large mechanical thing that he assumed was an AC unit He felt fear grip his heart before he Hailey said, "Your blood pressure is elevated, this is just what piloting an AC unit is like. Push the button on the side again to deactivate." He did this with great relief as he saw himself again. He examined the controls. In front of him was a joystick with two triggers. Several buttons were clustered on the top of the joystick, functions unknown at the moment. Underneath the console were two pedals near his feet. He assumed that their functions would be shown when he began to pilot it. He sighed and reactivated the helmet. Seeing through a simulated head of an AC was an interesting experience; the machine's blocky arms became his arms through the vision.

His internal monologue was interrupted by Hailey. She told him, "Alright, we're having AC piloting for backwards hillbillies 101 today. Now, you know the joystick, well that moves the AC in the direction you point it. Try doing that." Naruto pushed the joystick forward and the AC began to ponderously step forward. He looked sideways and the machine began to turn from the waist. It was so lifelike, he could have sworn this in real life. Hailey's voice once a gain rang inside his helmet. "Congrats, you figured out how to turn an AC, look in the direction that you want to go and the AC will do the turning. Now, lets try that some more." Naruto practiced this for a few more minute before getting the hang of it. It was a fairly intuitive system and allowed him to strafe fluidly. This was extremely useful in combat situations.

Hailey called out, "Now Naruto, I'll call you that since we're off-duty, lets learn about boosting. Do you see that bar on the left?" She received an affirmative. "That is the energy bar. Press the upper trigger on the joystick to jump. Press it again to boost in the air." He followed the directions and was off in the air of the simulated training area, an octagonal metal room with several sets of ledges circling the wall. The whine of boosters filled his ears. It was an oddly relaxing sound. He noticed the bar on the left was going down at a steady rate. That must mean the booster consumes energy from the generator, not from a separate fuel supply. This was a mixed blessing, if the bar ran out of energy (handily indicated by a redzone) he would be stuck on the ground until it went back; however, he would never run out of fuel as the boosters ran on electrical energy. He would need to watch the energy bar in combat. Hailey shouted at him, "Raven watch your heat bar in the upper left." He looked and saw it redlining. Suddenly, the AC started losing lots of energy as the heat bar returned to normal. Hailey answered his unvoiced questions when she explained the function of the heat bar and the radiator. He now smiled confident in his skills.

He needed to manage energy and heat, but that wasn't that bad. Compared to some of the battles he had, that wouldn't be much of a problem. Still, it wasn't too bad; it was like watching your chakra in the middle of a battle, but with a handy visual aid. This finally finished, he sat back and began to practice boosting and dropping and discovered the fastest method of ground movement: ground boosting. He discovered it when he mistimed a boost and ended up skidding on the ground. He was now jumping, weaving, and strafing. Hailey brought him out of this when she said, "Weapons training, I think you'd be interested."

Naruto instantly started paying attention at this and replied, nearly shouting, "When do we start!"

Hailey replied with faux enthusiasm, parodying his, "I'll begin now if you will be quiet!" Naruto sighed melodramatically and listened for her response. "Weapons are operated with the foot pedals. Right foot pedal operates right hand weapon or back weapon, left pedal operates left hand weapon. The button on the joystick at the corner closest to you changes weapons for the right pedal. Now lets practice." Naruto gave his affirmation and began testing out the two weapons on the 'core. The first one was elongated and smooth, and it fired purple blasts at enemies. The other weapon fired blue blue pulses of energy, hence the name "pulse rifle." To aim these implements of destruction, there was a box in the center of the HUD. This was the lockbox. The lockbox, once it had a lock on an enemy, automatically adjusted the arms to increase the odds of a hit.

He also learned about Armor Points, which appeared in a box above the energy bar. Armor Points were an abstraction as to the amount of punishment an AC could take. The amount was figured out by a computer program that turned damage assessments into a points system. He still didn't quite get it, but it worked for him.

With this done, Hailey told the tired out preteen, "Time to take a break."

Naruto gratefully heeded the command and stepped out of the simpit sweating because it simulated all cockpit conditions, including interior heat. He went into the rec room and pulled a canteen from his jacket. He took a long drag and began to replace the fluids he lost from the sweating.

Hailey appeared to him in the hologram projector and said, "Good job, you can take a break. I think, and when I say 'I think' in this case, I mean do it, you should live here. Go ask whatever leader you have if you can stay here."

Naruto said, "Sure thing, but you may need to hide the AC," matter-of-factly.

Hailey said, "Of course, I have a drop pod, put that around the AC and voila, instant hidden AC, just call it the power source and you don't want to investigate because of the danger it may pose to yourself." He acknowledged the computer program and left, waving her goodbye.

He traveled through the forest and helped himself to an MRE he had taken from the place. It was, amazingly, tastier than the instant ramen he normally lived on. He finally got through the security and began to run to the hospital where he knew Kakashi was. He needed some training because he wouldn't be able to use **his** AC in the finals. That battle would strictly be one of ninja abilities. "On the other hand, I could probably beat Neji with creative use of Kawirimi and Kage Bunshins. And explosive notes, yes, explosive notes. It would probably easier with training though. I would also need some sort of long range ninjutsu and something better than kunai and shuriken for this to be effective," thought Naruto.

He soon arrived at the hospital and asked Kakashi for training. "Honestly, Sasuke would likely rush into the fray, planning to use whatever likely powerful jutsu he learned as a one hit wonder that would easily be avoided by a smart opponent," he ranted internally. Then he saw that Kakashi found him a teacher, that Ebisu guy. He began to learn water walking and failed miserably for the most part, but the improvement between tries was phenomenal. Then, he met Jiraiya and the rest was history.

Naruto and Jiraiya were "training" by a stream. This involved Jiyaiya watching him while he attempted water walking. Jiraiya noticed something off about his chakra, well more off than it would be normally. He told Naruto that he would show him a trust excersize. This involved Naruto raising his hands above his head. Jiraiya muttered _Gogyo Kaiin_ under his breath and slammed the chakra enclosed fingertips into the _Gogyo Fuin_ ruining Naruto's chakra control. It seemed like he just slugged Naruto in the gut. After his dazed student got up, he commanded him to try water walking again. Naruto soon got the technique.

Naruto than asked, "Hey, Sage dude, is it possible to fly using the same principle? By the way, could you teach me some _Raiton _jutsu? I have an idea in mind to beat Neji Hyuuga, my opponent in the exams."

Jiraiya then pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Thank you for saying that now. I was wondering about what you were doing in the exams. Anyway, training over for the day, get some rest kiddo." Naruto yawned and left the area.

He jumped across the buildings to the Hokage tower, the largest building in the village and barged through the door to his office, paperwork of a hundred clerks flying behind him. He shouted at the old man, "Ojii-san, I want to ask you something!"

The man in question said calmly, "Naruto, indoor voice please. Now, what do you want?"

Naruto replied, careful to use an indoor voice, "I found this old place in the forest of death and would like to move there."

The Third Hokage rubbed his chin in thought before finally saying, "Yes, I trust your judgment on this. I'll come and see it later, after this hectic chunin exam. Have a nice day."

Naruto ran out, ready to move his stuff to the complex, his new home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Read and Review

PM's are welcome

This author doesn't won the franchises in question, Armored Core and Naruto

AC size fixed as of May 10, 2009

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Naruto grabbed some of his stuff to move to the complex. This wasn't too much, mainly a couple shirts and other items. And his trusty sleeping cap, that was important. The orange clad boy was off, dashing over rooftops. He jumped the fence into the forest and dashed through moonlit groves into the contrasting metal and concrete.

He moved into the complex and sat down in the rec room to make a pot of green tea. It had been a useful skill and tea was a wonderful way to calm one's nerves. Now, Naruto was sitting on a couch, talking to a projection of Hailey.

"So Hailey, I need to think of a useful strategy to defeat that prick, Neji. I was thinking of long range bombardment with tagged kunai and using _kawirimi_ whenever he comes close to fight me in hand to hand. If he hits me, I'll be toast. The thing is, I really need some way to remain airborne. That way, Neji won't be able to anything but chuck thrown weapons at me. However, this ends up being a race to see who will run out of chakra first. As of now, the only way to maneuver in the air is to spam _kage bunshin_ as springboards or to throw me."

Hailey mulled this over and asked, "What is chakra and a _kage bunshin_ or a _kawirimi?"_

Naruto launched into a simplified version of the explanation of chakra and jutsus.

The avatar of Hailey nodded and said, "You'd best ask that Sannin to help you. The only alternative is to use a variation of the tree walking, except you use the pressure of the chakra to push yourself upwards. It would probably do you well to emit most of the chakra from a spot on your back and push chakra from your feet for maneuvering. If chakra works as it seems, this should work and no one expects it, especially from someone considered as stupid as you."

Naruto added a few sugar cubes to his tea as he took a sip while he sat with his legs crossed. He was deep in thought. After minutes of silence, Naruto said, "I guess that would work. I also need a better ranged attack method. I did ask the sage guy to teach ranged _Raiton_, lightning that is, ninjutsu because they have a high speed, possibly greater than the reaction time of Neji. In addition, after I finish the seals, I can keep the jutsu charged and ready if I remember correctly. However, I'd rather not let those Sharingan eyes copy me. I think I need a technique that relies on chakra control exclusively. I was thinking of using my horrible control to my advantage. What if I formed a disk of spinning chakra over my fist then stopped keeping it stable. With another nudge of chakra or a punch, I could push the destabilizing disk as a projectile of sorts. I would only need the ability to use chakra."

Hailey looked to him and said, "There's a firing range here, you can use that. Now, I think we should rest." To this, Naruto wholeheartedly agreed as he slipped into the covers of his bed in his new home.

The next morning, Naruto woke up to blaring music. He began to shout at the obtrusive AI the music finally stopped when he got out of the bed and walked to the kitchen to make something. He finally decided to eat toast and began with that and melted a slice of cheep cheese over the browned bread. He grabbed a gallon jug of water and poured a glass. He was thinking of what to do during the match. He asked seemingly to thin air, "Hailey, what do you think of revealing the AC, but pretending it's a summon or having you snipe the arena from beyond visual range?"

Hailey replied, "That's not really wise, many former enemies are here from what you said. Then again, given this kid's preoccupation about fate, he may not hesitate to kill you if you stand back up or something. I think I should keep an aerial overwatch. Supporting fire could be helpful, but a thirty-something foot tall robot is not stealthy and the boosters have a very unique sound. If I remember correctly though, this AC has infinite flight capability. You need some real life practice."

Naruto replied, "Sure. Hey, do you have a change of clothes here 'cause most of my clothes are dirty."

Hailey said, "There is a jumpsuit in a locker in the AC's cockpit."

Naruto gave her an odd look and clambered up the gantry and stopped at a metal grating platform over the core and called out to the listening AI in the complex, "How do I get in?"

Hailey's voice replied, "I'll open it, but you'll have to learn later."

A large section of the upper back of the AC slid back, allowing him to to walk into the war machine. The space inside was larger than he thought. He saw a small footlocker in the dim lighting of the cockpit. He opened it and saw an olive drab jumpsuit. He shrugged and put on the suit in the confines of the cockpit. It had a lot of pockets, a plus for weapon storage. It was also fairly comfortable and made of a fiber of a much higher quality than any craftsman could make. Best of all, it wasn't as bad as Rock Lee made jumpsuits seem.

He yelled back outside, "Do you have any headset radios so we can stay in touch?"

Hailey replied, "There should be one in the by the acceleration couch."

Surely enough, it was there. He put the headset in the footlocker and proceeded to activate the AC unit. Lights, check. Helmet connected, check. Controls, ready. Power, check. Helmet activation, check.

He said through the coms system, "Hailey, are you in the AC now?"

"Correct, I have now put myself into the computer system of the unit. We go down that shaft over to your right. Disabling hookups. Moving gantries. Engaging manual controls. Combat mode disengaged. Lets rock, Raven!"

Naruto nodded and his vision changed to that of the AC. He marched the AC, Toxicity through the tunnel. Time, 5:00 AM. It was a good thing, the sage was too lazy to begin training until the afternoon. With the trip taking about a half hour each way, this left him about five hours to blow up the landscape in the rocky badlands. He emerged from the tunnel at the edge of the massive Konoha forest. Birds scattered at each step. He stopped and jumped in the air before boosting off to the badlands. The land blended into a uniform green broken by stretches of brown. The green began to be replace by brown until the badlands rose over the horizon, a jagged length of read and yellow.

Naruto guided the machine into the bottom of canyon and let the radiator cool the machine down, something necessary in the hot, dry environment. Once he felt Toxicity was sufficiently cool, he quickly double tapped the boost button. The AC ignited its boosters and made a boost assisted hop forward at the bottom of the sandstone walls of the canyon.

This was known as "boost hopping," a technique that most, if not all, successful Ravens used according to Hailey. She even showed him a video from a match years earlier. The two Ravens used a combination of boost hopping, circle strafing, and other maneuvers to gain the upper hand. The two machines occasionally made attack runs at each other with a myriad of weapons. In the end, one was destroyed when it ran out of energy and was pelted by a rain of weapons that stunned the grounded AC and prevented it from moving to dodge the blasts and projectiles eating its AP for breakfast. Boost hopping had neat quirks. You were able to change direction midflight, chain another one after landing, and use low amounts of energy with each hop. He then began firing weapons, cratering and glassing the rocks. This continued for about an hour as he hopped around. He was able to fly infinitely, but he needed to watch how often he fired or he'd fall from the sky. It wouldn't really hurt the AC, but it would crouch before getting back up, leaving him defenseless for a moment.

After this, Naruto opened the cockpit and climbed down from a series of handholds. He smiled and said through the radio headset, "Lets work on some flying through chakra emission."

He began to pump chakra into his back, focusing on directing the flow of energy downward. This worked somewhat. He did manage to fly continuously but at roughly two centimeters from the ground. He somehow managed to keep this up for nearly fifteen minutes. He then took out a canteen and took a long drag. Naruto rolled up his sleeves and rested underneath an outcropping for another fifteen minutes.

He got up and stood in front of an indomitable wall of reddish rock. He drew his fist to his hip and began to breathe, slowly drawing the energy of his life into his hand. Slowly, he built it up and drew it in front of him. At first, the tendrils of translucent blue energy dissipated into nothingness. The next tendrils moved to dissipate like the first, but were held and drawn into a discus over his fist. It stood there before the arm punched forward as the discus began to spin. It destabilized and moved forward almost a metre before ripping apart in a burst of force that pushed Naruto backward. His hand was somewhat abrased from the attack. He called through the headset, "How do you like that!"

Hailey said through the machine's speakers, "Good, better than I expected. You should probably work on the flying bit. You will need it for a mobility edge."

He nodded and began putting chakra through his back. He increased the output and began to rise, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter. He began to pick up speed and was hovering . He focused and slowly, chakra was being released from his feet. It felt as though he was standing on spheres of air. He tried moving to the side and began to notice how erratic the movement was and stopped feeding chakra to his feet and began to focus it through the back of his calves. He began to feel his movement become steadier. He kicked off and rushed through the winding paths, meeting turns, dodging pillars of rock that would turn him into a bloody smear. It was exhilarating.

He steadied himself over the edge of the gouge in the earth and hovered before kicking off air to speed back to the AC. Hailey's voice emanated, "Good, lets get back for your other training. Oh yeah, get a big meal while you're at it." Naruto let the AI take control of Toxicity as he slumped back in the acceleration couch on the way back.

After a large lunch of ramen, he made his way to a river where the sage, Jiraiya, was waiting. Naruto waved a greeting. The white haired man looked his new appearance up and down. Then he asked Naruto, "What is your plan?"

Naruto looked back at him and said, goofball exterior evaporating, "I'm going to get airborne along with several _kage bunshin_ to switch with if he uses ninjutsu or thrown weapons I can't dodge. In turn, I will pound him from above with tagged kunai, long range ninjutsu, or this other thing if I get the kinks worked out in the month. I want to deny him the ability to engage in close combat where I would surely lose."

Jiraiya said, "Show me, boy."

Naruto nodded and began to concentrate chakra into his back. The continuous exertion of energy pushed him upward. Then he pushed chakra through the back of his calves. He began to jink and burst in all direction before forming a disk of chakra over his fist. He puched and the disk flew nearly four meters before destabilizing. A great improvement, but nowhere near the level he needed it for the finals. Jiraiya clapped and shouted, "Lets improve that!" over the winds. He hadn't been this excited in a while.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I'm a bit displeased by the length, but I honestly couldn't think of a better place to end it. Enjoy my loyal readers.

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"Again runt!" shouted Jiraiya as Naruto fired off a blast from his hand only for it to collapse upon itself several meters in frot on him in a wave of dissipating chakra. Naruto grunted and concentrated again. He pretty much had the flying down because with his reserves, he could fly for a while. The ranged technique was, however, giving him trouble.

Jiraiya had been a real taskmaster for the past few days, improving his form in basic hand to hand with katas and spars along with practicing the dreaded ranged attack. Soon, he felt Jiraiya's hand upon his arm.

The white haired sage said, "Lets try this a bit differently. Instead of forming a disk parallel to your hand, how about building up the chakra around your arm then releasing it as a beam. This should be easier to use and you can build it up a good while longer then release it as more of a beam than a bullet."

Naruto gathered chakra around his arm in a wave of sparks and liquid blue fire. His arm almost felt like it was burning. The waves of power cracked and he pushed more chakra into it until it extended nearly one foot from his arm. As the toad sage directed, he released it as a beam extending from his arm. The beam left a trail of dust as it ripped past the sound barrier. It smashed into a nearby tree, ripping nearly one third of the trunk out. The trail of destruction went on another thirty feet before losing cohesion and blasting apart a glade. Naruto suddenly felt drained. He nearly fell, only for Jiraiya to catch him.

The man sat him down and put a supporting hand on the spent boy's shoulder and inquired, "How much chakra did you use in that attack?"

Naruto replied, "About an eighth total."

Jiraiya said, "That attack could break or disrupt most shields, even the Kaiten. So that was what you were after."

Naruto shrugged and replied, "I wasn't going to take any chances considering he nearly killed another leaf ninja."

Jiraiya asked, "So, where did you get he idea for that?"

To this, Naruto explained, "This lady told me about these ancient weapons called Kojima cannons, weapons that haven't been seen in nearly two-thousand years, that were used for breaking energy shields like the Kaiten, except much larger and powerful."

"Interesting. I assume that you have a last resort secret technique."

"Oh yeah. Yes, I do. All the destructive power of a high level summon. Ranged attacks causing massive damage from nearly fifteen hundred feet away. Amazing maneuverability and flight capability. I know how to use it. Best of all, unless I use chakra to enhance my senses or reflexes, it doesn't use any chakra whatsoever. I got many of my ideas for these techniques from using this secret technique. Y'know, I think I'll call these karajutsu."

"You're going to call them raven techniques."

"Well yeah, it fits with the... secret technique. By the way, I'm not going to show you."

Jiraiya nodded and gave him a few pointers on reducing the amount of chakra used for the same effect and sent him off as he thought, "I wonder what that kid's ace in the hole is?"

For Naruto, he was having a great break. He was sitting down on a lawn chair under an umbrella, watching the sunset, and drinking a tall glass of iced tea with Toxicity towering above him. Hailey was blaring rock music from the AC's speakers. What a great way to end a day.

The next day, Naruto was lazily walking through the city streets as he saw Team 8 also wandering around. He started off to greet them. He began to run and caught up with them to give a quick greeting.

Kiba responded with a reply of, "Good to see you too, Naruto. How have you been?"

Naruto responded, "I've been doing fine, thanks. For the most part , I've been doing training."

Kiba said, "Hey Naruto, beat that guy's ass into the ground for nearly killing Hinata. He deserves it."

Naruto said, "Of course I will."

Kiba remarked, "Good."

A moment of silence passed between them before Kiba inquired, "What happened that orange jacket of yours?" gesturing at his knaki jumpsuit.

"I still have it, but I prefer this. Rock Lee just gives them a bad name."

"Okay. Could you show me what you've been working on?"

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone? Hey Shino, do you want to watch?"

"Yes please," replied Shino with a hint of interest.

Naruto led the two over to an empty training field littered with boulder. He blasted himself into the air and hovered, building up the charge for his shield breaker. Waves of chakra and sparks emanated from his arm before blasting out a beam that splintered the boulder into fist sized shards of rock and melting what it didn't smash. By the time the beam finished, only a crater of glass remained. Kiba was left speachless at the destruction.

Shino commented, "Whoa!"

Naruto said, "That was about half-power, which is fairly safe to use."

Shino abruptly asked, "Are there any hand signs?"

Naruto replied, shaking his head, "No, there aren't. It's pure chakra manipulation."

They went off, each readying themselves for the exams.

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It was now the beginning of the exams. He stood proud with all the other entrants: Shikamaru, Temari, Neji, Gaara, Shino, Kankuro, himself. Where was Sasuke? Now, it didn't matter. He stood proud in his pilot suit. Gone was the idiot. There was now a true warrior, a Raven.

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Thus endeth the Chapter. What did you think? There will be much asskicking next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

Master of Machine

Chapter 5

Alright folks, here is the fifth chapter of Master of Machine. Now Naruto and Neji fight. If you do not understand the bit at the end, go watch the anime or read the manga for those bits.

In addition, I would like to thank my beta, Raven's Ark. Let's all give him a cheer. I do not own either Naruto or Armored Core

* * *

"Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuga, would you please step into the fighting area," called out a senbon chewing jonin, Genma.

While everyone else filed into their seats in the stands, Naruto and Neji stood roughly three meters away from each other. Neji began to glare at him for an unknown reason as Genma began to explain the fairly simple rules and regulations. When this finished, the jonin quickly cried out, "Hajime!" and left the ring.

Neji then closed his eyes before speaking with a quiet fervor, "Uzumaki-san, I believe you should forfeit this match. It could prove to be very... painful. The fates have decreed my victory and I don't believe you can do anything to change that. Attempting will end poorly for you."

Naruto looked past the sunglasses on his face and told Neji two words: "Eat shit."

Neji registered shock for a moment before slipping into a stance almost like that of a snake. His hands held with fingers forming a tip, he set the stance and activated the Byakugan with a word. Naruto across from him, formed a hand seal of crossed fingers and muttered, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_." A clone came into existence and was wordlessly directed to charging. Neji sprung into action and jabbed rigid fingers into the doppelganger's neck. The clone turned into a cloud of smoke, obscuring the older boy's vision. Naruto took a moment before sprinting onto a wall because he needed his opponent at range. He saw Neji roll from the smoke and spot him on the wall almost immediately. Naruto picked up a throwing knife he had made in the base's metal shop so he could have something better at throwing than the close combat oriented kunai and threw after applying a quick burst of chakra to activate the explosive tag wrapped around the handle. The curved and weighted steel hurtled down onto the target. Neji readied himself to deflect it, but the tag had been timed to explode just before he was able to bat it aside and was riddled with several shards of metal. Shrapnel sure was effective weapon against narrow minded opponents.

Naruto grinned and created twenty clones that spread themselves out along the perimeter of the wall. These clones began hurling shuriken in a dispersed pattern that was aimed around Neji so he would be in the path of several of the multi-pointed throwing weapons even if he dodged. Neji began twisting around avoiding and deflecting shuriken as he charged up the wall. Naruto saw this movement and used a Kawarimi to replace himself with a clone.

Naruto spat out, "Screw this," and fired off a chakra bullet. Over the month, he had worked out the technique and was able to comfortable use it. The cone shaped blast of energy zipped into the wall beside Neji.

Neji thought, "What was that?" as he began running along the side of arena, taking out the clones in his way. Whatever it was, it was bound to hurt.

Naruto fired a couple more and yelled, "Hey Captain Asshole, that was a little thing I call Kugel-Faust, something that means 'bullet fist.'" The name itself was a suggestion from Hailey and a cool sounding one. Neji ran around some of the the blasts, while others missed entirely. Naruto began to sweat as he braced himself and began charging the massive blast. Neji was close. Another "Screw it" and he jumped off the wall before Neji reached him. Neji then threw a dozen shuriken at Naruto. Naruto jumped back as several nicked his arm and caused him to prematurely lose control of the attack. The chakra disappeared in a wave of blue sparks and Naruto jumped back.

Neji wondered what Naruto's next move was and threw another brace of shuriken. Naruto applied a quick burst of chakra from his legs and back and flew clear of the attack. He muttered, "Sucker," and watched has his remaining shadow clones pushed off the wall and transformed themselves into explosive note wrapped axes. The massive stimulus of several close range explosions disoriented Neji for a bit. The white eyed boy saw Naruto across the arena and began planning. He was running out of shuriken and he only carried one kunai. He had no explosives, ninjutsu, or genjutsu. He needed to close the distance before he was bombarded into submission. This was what you got for being a one trick pony, only relying to taijutsu.

Naruto took off his sunglasses and placed them in a pocket of the jumpsuit before pulling a scroll from his belt and channeling chakra into it. His pilot helmet appeared in his hands and he placed its comforting weight on his head before activating the radio built into it.

"Hey Hailey, it's me, Chem Dog."

"Hello Chem Dog, what might I do for you today?"

"Umm... Please fire a shot or two from the ARGOS pulse rifle at extreme range into the arena. Do not, I repeat, do not hit the stands or the opponent because I will be so screwed if I kill a member of the most powerful clan of Konoha or any bystanders."

"Sure, Chem Dog. For the record, I still think this place is backwards to the point of being medieval."

"Fine Hailey. Excuse me, I'm going to go taunt my opponent."

Fifteen-hundred feet away, Toxicity was crouched in the forest overlooking the Hokage monument. The AC had been given a quick paint job of yellow-green and blended in just fine. The short, fat cylinder of the ARGOS pulse rifle fired off a quick burst of ions that shredded their way through the air.

"So Neji, I want to show you some Toxicity. It should be here soon Mr. Impatient," taunted Naruto.

Neji began to breathe to calm down. What did that fool mean by Toxicity? It did not matter now. He then began to hear whining noise that began to pick up. Neji then noticed the massive bolt of energy and began to whirl around, expelling chakra from his body all the while. A shield of pure chakra flared around him and was clipped by the pulse blast. The shield itself flared and visibly thinned. Meanwhile, Naruto had begun to charge his shield breaker. Blue waves of power emanated from his arm as he pumped more energy into it. The beam lanced from his arm into the weakened barrier and paused before puncturing it and giving Neji a large burn wound in his side

Neji felt the pain run through him. Unspeakable, a mere genin with a technique to defeat the legendary Kaiten. Ah well, better rush him before he uses that again. Course of action decided, Neji tore up the space between the two in seconds. Naruto pushed out chakra and blasted himself away, but not before Neji hit several painful tenketsu points on his stomach. This disrupted the flow of charade for a second Naruto plummeted. Neji flipped off the wall and landed on Naruto before kicking off and kicking him in the stomach. He accelerated downward at a much fast pace and hit the ground with a crack. Naruto knew he had cracked a couple ribs and got back up with an obvious limp before using pushing himself along the ground, swerving around Neji. Neji clutched his side from the burn and noticed Naruto skimming along the ground towards him. He put up a weak defense before getting slugged in the gut and flipped onto the ground. They both fell to their knees, vomiting onto the sand.

Neji launched into a tragic story of his father and the branch family of the Hyuga. It described the seal tattooed into his forehead and the shame he felt. He also described his hate and envy for his cousin Hinata.

Fighting the urge to retch again from the pain, Narrator said, "That's a sad story and all, but you really need to stop obsessing about fate and destiny. I don't care about those silly things that never stopped me. By the way, this match is over."

At this, Narrator slammed an elbow into Nedi's face. The Hyuga boy was knocked and unconscious and Naruto slung him over his should to carry Neji to the infirmary; he had earned it in Naruto's mind.

The senbon chewing jonin reappeared and declared, "Neji Hyuga has been rendered unconscious. The winner of this match is Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto then assisted the medics in moving Neji into the infirmary. He then left and joined the others in the stands reserved for the competitors. He greeted Shikamaru with a friendly pat on the back. The gesture was reciprocated and they turned to watch the next match. Kankuro forfeited and Shino was the winner by default. The next was Shikamaru's. The lazy boy slouched walked into the ring, formulating a strategy without a doubt. That match was interesting with Shikamaru's cunning plan that allowed him to eventually hit Temari with his _Kagemane no Jutsu_. Shikamaru then forfeited due to a lack of chakra.

Sasuke took forever to show up and did so in a very melodramatic fashion. The dark haired youth fought the psycho from Suna using a copy of Lee's style of taijutsu before Gaara curled his sand into a protective sphere. Sasuke then used a move that encased his arm in what appeared to be lightning. Blood was spilled.

Suddenly, feathers fell from the sky and a good portion of the audience fell asleep. Sound and Sand ninja began popping out of the woodworks and attacking the village. There was a commotion in the Kage's seating area. He heard explosions and crashes in the distance.

"Hailey, get over here. I think we are under attack."

"No shit Sherlocke."

"Who's Sher... Never mind, just get over here"

Sakura then asked, "Who is Hailey?"

Naruto sighed and said, "Hailey is my operator. You're going to see for what in a few seconds."

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I hope all of you enjoyed the new chapter. Reviews of all sorts are welcome, no flames though.


	6. Chapter 6

Master of Machine

Chapter 6

Hey people, new chapter. Y'all deserve a new chapter after waiting so long. On another note, Arch Enemy kicks ass. Listen to them like I did as I wrote this. To preemptively answer any questions, the singer is in fact a girl. Cheers to a new chapter. This chapter was brought to you by the bands Iron Maiden, Iron Savior, Children of Bodom, Arch Enemy, Sabaton, and the author, lord admiral belisarius. The figures in this are not made up. If there is an error in my calculations, please tell me. Names are being told First-Last.

lord admiral belisarius does not own any of the above bands, Naruto, or Armored Core. Please don't sue me!

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At that moment, a horrendous screeching was. All paused in their fights at this unknown noise as something rocketed to the stadium on pillars of green fire. The infernal din reached the ears of many, affecting the noise attuned ninjas of the Sound village even more because of their improved hearing. Moving at one hundred seventy-one kilometers per hour, the yellow-green blur came to the arena in roughly one and a half seconds.

It came to a stop in the middle of the arena on the two pillars of white flames that were the hover booster extensions. Naruto wasted no time in jumping with the assistance of chakra from the rail. While he was in midair, Hailey opened the cockpit. He put chakra into his hands and stuck onto the surface, twisted around, and slid into the cockpit. This took less than five seconds. Hailey boosted away to allow Naruto some time to get strapped into the acceleration couch. Shuriken, kunai, and some minor ninjutsu hit the airborne AC, doing little more than scratch the paint and pissing off Hailey, who had selected the shade of green that Naruto's clones lovingly sprayed onto Toxicity.

Naruto placed the piloting helmet onto his head and heard Hailey angrily shout through the helmet's speakers, "I worked long and hard finding a shade of paint that looked good and provided camouflage and now those assholes are ruining it. Get those little bastards for me, Chem Dog!"

Yes, if Hailey had been a real person, she would have been foaming at the mouth in anger. She was just that angry.

"Chem Dog, do you see the cube-like energy field over there?"

"Yes Hailey."

"A blade strike should disrupt and destroy it."

"That would mean I would have to drop the ARGOS pulse rifle. I really don't want to lose that."

"Naruto, let me take over that. Since both can be stored in hangars, I'll do a non-combat style hangaring, switching the ARGOS to the hangar and bringing out the ELF2."

"Roger that, Hailey. Taking evasive action from more powerful ninjutsu."

A hatch opened in the left side of the torso and a rack with a device designed to be placed upon the mech's wrist. Two fragile looking manipulators slowly came out and grabbed the fat cylinder that was the ARGOS and took it from the hand while another pair placed the other device onto the wrist of the AC where it magnetically attached itself. The ARGOS was brought onto the rack and the contraption receded back into the side of the AC.

Naruto deactivated the extension and let Toxicity crush several Sand nin under its feet. The enemies were stunned in fear at this unknown thing destroying their ranks with casual ease. The opposite effect was evident upon the friendly forces who fought with redoubled effort at the sight of the awe inspiring war machine assisting them. Sound and Sand ninjas were slaughtered in the arena. He walked the war machine along, crushing more enemies beneath the feet of the AC. He boosted along the ground, jumped, and activated the blade. The thirty-two foot length of monofiliment sharp carbon nanotubes snapped out and was wreathed in a massive arc of electricity. The blade was as tall as the AC itself and when he brought up details about it on the computer his office said that the blade was known for having a range on par with one of the later LB-series blades with the two tied for length. However, the ELF2 had some of the lowest energy consumption, a big bonus considering the entirely energy weapon loadout of his 'core.

The blade glowed with arcs of red lightning and slammed into the black barrier. The barrier held for a second, but combination of the physical and mental energy of four people was no match for a blade backed by a fusion reactor putting out four-point-nine million volts. Of that total output, nearly two-hundred thousand volts went into the blade. Half of that was waste in the form of heat and other inefficiencies. The nanotubes massed roughly sixty-five kilograms and hit the shield at at fifty meter per second. This slammed into the translucent purple shield with a force of two-hundred sixty-two-point-five thousand joules.

For comparison, a Sea Harrier massing seven metric tons moving at nineteen-point-seven-five meters per second would hit an object with two-million seven-hundred thirty four-hundred thirty-seven-point-five joules. That's ten percent of the energy of a jet fighter slamming into the shield.

The barrier was only able to take three-quarters of that energy and then shattered like glass, transmitting the remaining quarter among the sound four. By luck, fortitude, and augmentations by Orochimaru, they managed to survive as the a backlash barely less in energy to that of a high voltage power line was transmitted to them. They received third degree burns over much of their bodies as the very air around them ionized and burned. They were crippled for the rest of the fight and would remain so or die if they did not receive some medical treatment in the next few hours. They lay convulsing on the roof from the electrical part of the damage.

This done, the nanotubes snapped back and there was a hiss of steam from the end of the aperture from which the blade issued forth as coolants were pumped onto the red hot blade.

He took off with the howl of boosters as he flew off in the direction of the massive summoned snakes wreaking havoc on the walls and jonin of the village. He cut the boosters and and dropped onto a street, shattering cobblestones in a hail of splinters and dust. The radar easily pierced such an impediment and he got a lock at one of the three five-hundred meter distant snakes and snapped off a shot from the SHADE energy rifle. The purple bolt of charged particles blew apart one of the heads of a snake resembling the hydra of old into a pink mist. With surprising agility and speed for something of such size, the snake launched itself at the green painted mech. The thing cleared the space in a matter of seconds. Naruto fired again, but the shot missed the ever moving coils of the beast. It was then on top of him and slammed the 'core to the ground. The HUD showed a loss of eight-hundred armor points and warning display showed his torso to be damaged and the left hangar sealed shut. Luckily, the armor was replaceable. It hadn't done anything other than ruin most of the plating on Toxicity's torso. Naruto activated the boosters and the snake had another head destroyed as it was incinerated by the boosters located on the legs. The final head lunged at him and the SHADE fired. It missed and went off to destroy a building in the distance. However, because of its nature as a charged particle weapon, the SHADE created a burst of radiation whenever fired, like all energy weapons aside from blades and railguns. Over many decades of use, the radiation had been minimized to a degree that it was only lethal in a three foot cone from the end of the SHADE rifle, the place where the snake's remaining head was. The beast toppled over, dead, as its brain cells were fried by hard radiation. It then disappeared in a blast of smoke like the summon it was.

In the distance, an inhuman roar of anguish sounded at shook all combatants at the wrath of a demon. Naruto spent two minutes righting the toppled machine and sped off to see a massive, bloated raccoon thing of sand arise from the middle of the famed forests of Konoha.

Through the camera of the AC, Naruto saw the forms of Asuma Sarutobi, Hatake Kakashi, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Temari in the leaves. They gazed upon the form of Toxicity, battered but unbroken. Jiraiya then arrived and made a series of seals before slamming his hand on a branch with a cry of, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A frog the size of a small skyscraper came out of a billowing cloud of smoke armed with a massive tanto the size of a building. Toxicity was dwarfed by the massive toad and floated to the level of the its head where Jiraiya stood.

Naruto flipped a switch from the cockpit layout that was now memorized after a month of hard work.

The speakers crackled to life and he said in a confident tone belying his worries, "Hey Ero-senin, wanna' double team that lovely little SOB over there."

Jiraiya chuckled at the nickname and called to Naruto, "Hey runt, I'm up for it, but it's really triple team. I would like to introduce you to Gamabunta, the Toad Boss."

Gamabunta then said, "Hello boy, I would assume that you are in that metal giant hovering next to me."

Naruto replied, "That would be correct, Gamabunta-sama," and then addressed Jiraiya, "By that logic this battle is four to one. I'd like you to meet the lady that has been guiding me through this whole thing, Hailey."

Hailey rook control of the speakers and greeted them with, "Hello there, I'm Hailey, the operator of Raven Chem Dog, pilot of AC unit Toxicity. If you are curious, you would know Raven Chem Dog as Naruto Uzumaki."

Jiraiya inquired, "So kid, is this your secret weapon?"

Naruto's voice crackled over the speakers, "You bet it is! Let's go get that oversized raccoon with a face only a mother could love!"

The racoon demon fired a bullet of compressed air at the foes facing it. Gamabunta used the massive muscles of his legs to bodily throw himself into the air. While in the air, the toad boss released a stream of oil which was then ignited by a stream of fire issuing from Jiraiya's mouth in a technique known as _Gamayu Endan._ Naruto broke right and boosted forward while using the blade. This combination triggered the programmed blade wave, sending ball lightning toward the massive tanuki. It was bathed in flames and the blade wave glassed part of it's shoulder. Gamabunta shifted in flight and unsheathed the tanto, hacking off a limb of sand. Naruto took advantage of this to glass the stump with a barrage of SHADE shots and ELF2 blade waves. It would not be regenerating. He then deactivated the hover boosters, sending him plummeting towards the forest canopy as the mass of the demon's tail swept above him, easily capable of smashing his AC to bits.

His energy bar regenerated as he fell, bringing it from near zero to something much more tolerable. The massive humanoid machine rose back towards the sky, mere feet away from the leaves of the canopy. He was once again hovering by Gamabunta and Jiraiya. The combat was at a standstill, both sides readying for the next strike.

Jiraiya asked Gamabunta, "Do you think you can take off another of the thing's limbs?"

The toad shook it head and replied, "Yes, I could, but only if someone distracts it."

Jiraiya shouted to Naruto, "I need you to distract it so we can cut off another limb."

Inside of the cockpit, Naruto straightened his back and responded, "Yes sir!"

Jiraiya then counted down, saying, "On my mark, three, two, one, mark!"

Naruto blazed off towards the monster, green fire propelling him forward at an astonishing speed. It raised its paw to swipe him from the sky, but Naruto guided Toxicity onto the demon's arm in an amazing display of piloting. He boosted across the arm at two-hundred fifty-two kilometers per hour, turning the sand beneath him into molten glass. The tail came down and she strafed sideways onto the back. It howled in rage as a line of blackened volcanic glass appeared on its form, marking the AC's passage. He pressed on, even as the the energy bar came nearly to zero. When he came close to the tail, He activated the blade once more and sliced it clean off at its base, melting the sand. The blade returned, sending bits of molten glass on Toxicity's left arm as it was scraped off when the blade retracted. Out of energy, the AC dropped and although remaining upright, fell into the forest.

Distracted by this, the tanuki failed to notice the incoming form of Gamabunta as it hacked off another arm. Jiraiya flashed through a series of seals and yellled, "Katon: Endan!" A stream of liquid fire doused the stump and melted it, preventing regeneration. The beast howled in anguish and rage.

The energy bar returned and was able to slow the machine to to a speed not dangerous to either itself or its pilot. Naruto told Hailey to watch the AC for a second. He then jumped using chakra assisted muscles into the air. He then activated his flying ability and zoomed toward the head of the sand demon. He flew and came to a halt at the beast's head. There was a boy standing on top of it. He slapped the boy, Gaara, in the face. Eyes shot open and the sand began to slip away, back into its formless mass. Naruto began to call the redhead out on everything he'd done.

"What the hell, man! You needlessly murder people in fits of homicidal rage because it make you feel alive! That's just wrong! Wrong, you hear me! Then you completely shun everyone around you, including your siblings who love you wholeheartedly and are afraid to touch you because you might kill them! Words can not describe just how fucked up that is! I've been shunned for most of my life by nearly everyone I meet on the streets. Have you seen me complaining? No, because I'm not going to let that drag me down! In fact, I'm going to use as a gauge to see how far I've come. I'll know I've truly proved myself when they start respecting me. I don't go out and murder random people! Yeah, your life must have been pretty crappy too, but you don't go and kill random people! That is called being a homicidal maniac, which is not how to improve yourself! Snap out of that bullshit and realize that people out there do care for you! I can name the people who respect and like me on a very short list, but I know this and respect them. Once again, snap out of that bullshit and realize that people care! Do you realize how many lives you've ruined, family members left in mourning, parents who wake up to find their kids dead? Get a hold of yourself. I hope you've learned from this."

With that Naruto strode away. Gaara remained until his sibling came to help him. Then came words that took their breath away.

"Thank you brother. Thank you sister."

The sounds battle died down and like that, the battle for Konoha was over.

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What did you think of the chapter? Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Master of Machine

Chapter Seven

Enjoy :)

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Invasion Defeated by Jiraiya of the Sannin and Unknown

by Taoto Kusagichi

As you all should know, very recently, we were invaded by the combined forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure. Luckily, we have mostly driven out the forces with both militia and shinobi assisting in the mop up operation. There are still remnants of Oto and Suna forces in the city so remain on your toes folks. Although most of the enemy forces have been driven out, there are still stragglers.

Now, we come to the most interesting part of this battle. There was a large metal giant present in the arena on the side of Konoha. From several eyewitness accounts, it is a roughly man-shaped thing. From the front, it has a Y-shaped profile and is a yellow green color. It has a single glowing eye and uses at least two weapons. One appears to be a long vaguely tube-like device. This appears to be ranged weapon of some sort. The other weapon is a forearm mounted device. It seems, from a few counts of a visual confirmation, to be a long blade of red energy.

Now, this was first seen flying from the Hokage Monument to the stadium where it appears to have contributed to the fight. However, this is not fact as the military has not released anything pertaining to the unknown. Next, it was seen flying over to the walls and taking out several large snake summons that from our information sources were greatly larger than the unknown.

Then it was seen in collaboration with Jiraiya of the Sannin in defeating a massive tanuki made of sand. Whether that was a summon or something far more malicious in not known. However, it double teamed the beast with Jiraiya on Gamabunta in a truly stunning battle. Although it has not been confirmed, I hold the belief that there was a man commanding the unknown. If this is the case, I and several of my colleagues would like to thank the pilot and perhaps have an interview.

**- A column in the newspaper, Konoha Daily published after the attack.**

Aya Minto: Now, we've all been hearing things about the unknown that assisted us. Let's go to the streets to find out.

Aya Minto:Yous sir, what's your name?

Man: George Cuthburt

Aya Minto: So I take it you're not from around here.

George Cuthbert: Why that would be correct. I see you're a reporter, so what do you want to ask?

Aya Minto: What do you think of the "unknown" that has everyone captivated?

George Cuthbert: I saw it. [Pauses for a moment] Reminds me of a few old pictures I saw in a museum of ancient weapons.

**-Transcript of Aya on the Street.**

"My friends and people of this village, it has been a while since I have addressed you in manner as today. Yes, yes, the rumors are correct. I did, in fact fight with Orochimaru, my former student. I likely would have died had it not been for the intervention of an unknown. Contrary to some perceptions, the 'unknown' is not giant, or an oni, or a demon, or a summon. It is, in fact a war machine known as a Cored Muscle Tracer that had lain dormant in the city. This is, from what I've been told by its pilot, ... yes, its pilot. It is weapon controlled by a person sitting inside of it... more commonly known as an Armored Core. The pilot of this Armored Core, 'Toxicity,' has been awarded full military honors for his actions defending the city. These include a Medal of Valor: First Class*, a Silver Leaf**, an honorary rank of Colonel within the Daimyo's forces, the rank of Chunin, and a plot of land to the north to claim as his own. People of Konohagakure, I present to you Colonel Naruto Uzumaki!"

**- Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage in a public address to Konoha.**

Yami Ritona- What do you think of the announcement by the Sandaime Hokage about Naruto Uzumaki?

Josei Haru- Personally, despite the actions of a vocal minority giving most of us a bad name, I fully support the Hokage in this venture. From the account of the battle by the Hokage, the boy proved himself. I honestly have hopes for the lad, seems like a decent enough fellow. That vocal minority, their kinda like those Fire Supremacist f****, people that you just can't get rid of and will do some pretty sick sh** for their beliefs. I'm pretty surprised he (Naruto) hasn't gone and snapped. However, its not like the police haven't been inactive, I mean they'd protect him just like they would for any other citizen.

**- Partial transcript from the radio talkshow, The Yami Ritona Show.**

"We're gonna get the little shit. How dare that demon be rewarded!"

**-Unknown, shortly before riots resulting in the deaths of thirty bystanders and five riot policemen.**

"Such a dumbass, too dumb to live in my mind."

**-Chief of Police Akira Matsuhira on the above comment.**


	8. Chapter 8

Master of Machine

Chapter 8

I know it has been long while and y'all deserve some love. In that case, here is my story. Also, I am disregarding Chapter 450 of the manga in my depiction of the Fire Daimyo.

Military parades were rare events around Konoha. For one thing, the ninja forces were quite touchy about their identities. Some managed to gain a reputation in spite of their efforts to remain unknown, like one Hatake Kakashi; however, his combat record will remain sealed for the next eighty years. When that date comes, the record has a slight chance of being unsealed. Maybe.

This military parade was not the once in a blue moon things that were held by the ninja forces. This was a parade of the Daimyo's forces in Konoha. Given the all but independence of the city, this was quite rare. They were only held when there was something quite important, such as the appointment of a general or honorable discharge of a war hero or a new addition to the forces of Fire Army. Or the unveiling of an addition to the forces of the Daimyo.

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Naruto tugged at the collar of his uniform as he appraised himself in the khaki trousers and blue trimmed, scarlet tailcoat of his new uniform. He found it odd that the uniform wasn't a more traditional kimono, but apparently they had switched over to these uniforms roughly three years ago. Having had to wear a kimono before, he found this to be vastly more practical than the layered robes. He had to admit that kimonos could look quite good on women, especially if shorter skirts were involved.

He asked, "Hey Hailey, do I look ready for the parade."

Hailey adopted a ridiculously exaggerated accent and replied, "Ya look fine, hon."

"Can you program Toxicity to adopt a parade rest?"

"Must you always ask stupid questions?"

"Yes. Yes, I must."

Naruto grabbed his officer's cover and placed the blue cover on his head. The cap had a fair amount of decoration, less than a general's, but more than a lieutenant's or captain's. As he had found out, the decoration was known as "scrambled eggs" with greater quantities of the "eggs" equating a higher rank. Naruto straightened his tie and left the bathroom. He gazed into the hangar where the proud tall form of the AC had stood but was currently being carried by rail to be unveiled officially at the parade.

---------

Orochimaru languished in the dark, guarded by a platoon of ANBU with his arms chained behind his back and with chakra draining seals on the manacles and chains holding him. He was due to be executed in a few days for crimes against humanity and treason. Now, near the end of his life he wept. He wept silently at the horrors he committed for the sake of science. He'd surrendered himself to delusions. He still craved immortality, but there had to have been a better way then what he did. On the other hand, knowledge was power in the shinobi world and he had enough knowledge to make his life worthwhile. The curse seal was interesting, but ultimately futile as it corrupted the mind of the user into irrational decisions. Now, there was no hope for his Sound 4 and Kiminaro. Perhaps he could find himself a position within the Research and Development department. One one hand, he was quite potent as a shinobi, but on the other hand, he had the weaknesses of all humans ignoring his contortionist talents. All he needed for immortality was materials and time to research the Shiki Fuin of the Fourth. The only way to do that was to align with Konoha. At very least, he would find a way to live. Above all, Orochimaru was a survivor.

---------

The parade was starting. It began with a procession of spearmen in their gleaming parade armor. Then came a contingent of archers in brightly colored uniforms followed by a block of armored crossbowmen. Then came several rows of cavalry and mounted archers. Finally, the Daimyo himself came in an open topped carriage. Sitting with him were his wife and one Naruto Uzumaki. Mounted soldiers were placed arround the carriage to dissuade the crowd from closing in.

The daimyo was a large, friendly man with a curly well trimmed bear upon his chin. He was dressed in a multi layered formal kimono made of the finest silks that could be found. It would have been opulent on any man but him. Naruto's first impression of the man when he first met him was of honesty and friendliness as he bid Naruto to rise from his bow and began to discuss the best method of cooking pork with Naruto. As it turned out, he was a fan of barbecued pork while Naruto preferred it stewed. His wife, Shimihi-sama, was, as he knew, a cat person, and she also was a quite the philanthropist, using her own money to to aid in projects such as delivering food to refugees fleeing into the stable Fire Country. The Daimyo insisted on referring to Naruto as "Boy" in a friendly manner.

"And then I ordered General Sheruman to go behind enemy lines and destroy the enemy supply chains and break the will of the people of Tea Country. He burned down their capital and that was that. They were signing a treaty giving us land in days," finished the Daimyo as he recounted the Water-Fire War of 1879 SE (Shinobi Era). The man, while appearing to utterly friendly and laidback, had an iron hard will, a Will of Fire.

The parade drove into the plaza of Baikaru, Capitol of the Land of Fire. The Daimyo stepped out from the carriage followed by his wife and Naruto. They group walked to the stage with Naruto remaining a respectful distance two paces behind and to the right of the Daimyo. His ceremonial katana clattered on his hip as he marched forward. The contrast of old and new was interesting in Naruto's modern dress uniform and the traditional garments of the Daimyo and his wife. He walked to the podium present as Naruto stood behind him and his wife took a seat. The Daimyo was greeted to a round of applause as cleared his throat at the microphone.

"People of the Land of Fire, it has been a momentuous time for us all. The microstate of Konoha was invaded and my close ally, the Hokage nearly killed. This cannot be allowed to happen. This was perpetuated by Orochimaru of the Sannin, who became dictator of the Land of Rice Fields. Currently, the forces of this dicator hold the country. My dear friends and citizens of the Land of Fire. This means war. We cannot allow those war mongering despots to hold power over one of our neighbours. The Land of Wind is also willing to assist us as Orochimaru murdered their leader. It is time to crush them and restore peaceful rule to the country."

Maintaining bearing, Naruto smiled internally at his skill in persuading the crowd. The story he told Naruto was this and more. The Land of Rice Fields was also an important trade route with the Land of Lightning and contained several Fire-built railroads. This was not something that could be in enemy hands. For his part, he remained silent enjoyed the speech. It was passionate and inspired a nation to war.


End file.
